Linen & Peacock Feathers

A new piece to welcome in summer!

Linen is the epitome of summer! I got both fabrics from Joann Fabrics, the linen was originally for a copy of this dress on Modcloth (which I theoretically still could do because I have enough fabric leftover!), but I ended up using it with the peacock feather print instead. I love how cool and soft the linen feels, even with a lining underneath. Maybe next time, I will do a completely linen dress, though the cotton skirt I ended up going with this time around wasn't a regretful choice.

The dress is a mix of two Butterick patters: B4443 for the top and B5285 for the skirt. The bodice has a cotton-blend lining that I whip-stitched in. I should really make a new pattern piece for the 4443 bodice because I end up doing a number of alterations to get the princess seams to sit correctly on me. As is, the bust portion sits too low. I brought the shoulder straps closer in (without compromising the bust and waist width) to prevent the dreaded shoulder-strap-that-sits-on-the-edge-of-your-shoulder-and-not-on-it, which I see when patterns have both a sleeve and sleeveless option. I also took in the bust by an inch at the sides and extended the armholes a half-inch at the bottom.

It took probably far too long to get into this habit, but instead of sewing the skirt and then sewing it onto the bodice and dealing with mismatched seams, I actually pleated and then measured and took out excess fabric from the sides prior to putting in pockets and finishing off the seams. As a result, the skirt side seams actually match the bodice side seams! I've actually made a few pieces without doing this so the side seams never matched throughout the dress. (Shame on me!)

I'm trying to get into the habit of making quality clothes, rather than chugging out piece after piece just to say I have something that I've made. I used to be fairly impatient with sewing and often rushed items just to have it done (which is pretty apparent with the items that I decided not to keep during spring cleaning as evident by 1, 2, and 3).

This dress was fairly quick to make and I was able to finish it in about four days (i.e. cut it out Sunday night and sewed after work and finished on Thursday). I wore it all day last Sunday and unfortunately had a few wrinkles at the back from sitting, but luckily the pleats were not obviously messed up.